It’s a hard rock life for Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson

Published 8:49 am, Thursday, February 6, 2014

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Photo: Courtesy Photo

It’s a hard rock life for Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Bassist Jeff Pilson has rocked the world with ’80s metal band Dokken and continues to as a member of the rock band Foreigner. Before they take the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center stage Friday, Pilson talked about Foreigner on the road, at home and living his rock ’n’ roll dream.

MRT: Before Foreigner, you were more entrenched in metal, most notably with Dokken for 16 years. Was there any sort of transition in the way you jam?

Pilson: It’s funny, because there’s surprisingly little difference in the genres. In Dokken, we always tried to fuse heaviness with melody. And Foreigner had been doing the same thing only earlier!

MRT: So it’s fair to say you were a big Foreigner fan if not inspired by the band.

Pilson: Oh yeah, I always liked the records and their music. I think most people see Foreigner as a ballad band, but I always think of them as that ’70s hard rocker band. It was a natural transition for me and just a joy to play. It’s like a dream.

MRT: Are there plans for any new original music from Foreigner?

Pilson: We’ve talked about it, but it’s difficult because we tour year round. We’re going to the U.K. in April after touring here. That’s the nature of the industry now because that’s where the money is. People don’t buy records like they did. The business has just completely changed, and it’s hard to stop the touring machine. You used to make a record and then go on tour. Now you go on tour first. I think that’s a shame.

MRT: So then how do you spend any spare time?

Pilson. Like there is any. I produce where I can, and we go home when we can. I gotta work though while the chance is there. I’m very fortunate people want to hear us and like I said, this is my dream. I love the music, the traveling, the hours on stage. We all do, and when you have that, magical moments happen.

MRT: The band has come a long way from its original lineup, but Mick Jones is still going at it. How is it working with the guy who started this all?

Pilson: We’ve all been fans and pay a lot of respect to Mick’s vision and are very aware of it. We don’t deviate but one of the beautiful things is he wants us all to contribute musically. I don’t play bass parts that differently, but live, we do have a lot more energy. We’re a far heavier band than the records ever were and Mick loves that. As long as we stay true to it, he loves it when we do our thing.

Foreigner plays to a sold out crowd at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. Friday.